Bites, Distance, Devotion
by Shitza
Summary: One final battle, one final moment of survival and one final conclusion of the Bites. When Jett is killed, it throws everything to pieces. Since their last confrontation, the vampires all struggle to survive. And yet, there is a greater evil that lurks in their shadows. Pairings: HongIce, DenNor, SuFin, ChinaRussia. Sequel to Bites, Blood, Immortality.
1. Every story with an end

A/N: Finally, it's been forever and I am sorry, but I've got my hands full lately with preparations for my studies abroad and seeing as many of my friends and family as possible. I hope you will enjoy this installment in the story, seeing how much I've wanted to work on it. To note though, despite this being an Iceland-centric story, I am not a huge Ice/Hong reader, so my take on Hong Kong may or may not be a bit different from what you may be used to. I try to keep characters as close to the original as possible, but sometimes I need to alter things for the story... though it does annoy me that I forgot this part: "Ve..."

Title: Bites, Distance, Devotion

Author: Shitza

Rating: M

Pairings: Hong/Ice, Den/Nor, Swe/Fin, Rus/China

Length: 22 chapters (may get longer, since I have to finish drafting the full story, and the plot has of now been created to chapter 16. I'll finish the plot on my plane to China (because it will take hours to fly, I may as well spend them by doing something productive.)

Timelines: Blood, Love, Hunger is set in the 18th century, Blood, Bites, Immortality is sent in more present times (2009-2018) and this story takes place 160 years after BBI (2178 and forward).

Disclaimer: All rights go to Hidekaz Himaruya, and the people involved with the manga and anime. This is a non-profit story I have borrowed the characters for, because that is what fanfictions do. I will however be upset if you, yes you, copy of this story and post it somewhere else. So please don't, and keep respecting your fellow authors.

Character List:

Jett - Australia

Kiku - Japan

Eduard - Estonia

Yao - China

Gilbert - Prussia

Michelle - Seychelles

Georgi - Bulgaria

Francis - France

Mathias - Denmark

Leon - Hong Kong

Emil - Iceland

William - New Zeeland

Feliks - Poland

Lukas - Norway

**Bites, Distance, Devotion**

**Prologue**

Australia, Sydney, August year 2178

Jett stared at his com-device suspiciously. He simply couldn't get his head around all this new technology that seemingly popped up all the time. A few years ago Eduard had threatened to send Gilbert at him if the Australian did not change his communication device and upgrade the system. It had been long since the 3D chips were first introduced to replace the old glasses. The glasses had been cool, until the problems became evident. Some humans were simply too stupid to tell a computer generated image from reality. Jett could still remember those good old days when a message had to be given to a ship. No stress, no pressure, no need to keep yourself constantly updated. What the hell had he agreed on? When he told Gilbert and everyone else that he could become the new middle-man between East and West he had not expected to be stalked by his own.

And so, here they all are. Jett sighed, because humans could never tell when one of those truly real things so much as stared you in the face. As you may guess by now, Jett is no human. He is, like many of his friend, a vampire. A being that hosted a demonic force within him. Somehow, he still retains some humanity within him, but he would never even consider being friends with them. They were food, it was as simple as that.

"_You have an incoming call from Kiku Honda." _A female voice spoke in his ear. Jett nodded, as the still unfamiliar program spoke to him. He wondered briefly what had happened to those good old telephones where you needed to ask others to relay a message. Australia during the 19th century had been so different.

Kiku's familiar face appeared. Like most of their kind his appearance didn't change over the years. It was faint hologram, so all you could tell were outlines of the person to not disturb the scene in front of you. Kiku smiled gently at him.

"Konichiwa, Jett-san."

"Hello Kiku, mate, how are things at your end?"

"Pretty good I think. I called to see what Eduard-san has to say about our friends. Anything new that we and Yao should know about?"

Jett thought for a moment. What was it that Eduard had near shouted at him about? Oh yes…

"Well… Gil wanted to give you the head's up that the rings aren't perfected yet. Michelle is still a bit nauseous and Georgi lost an easy battle because it made him _dizzy_. So, could you ask Yao to send them the newest version of the rings next meeting?"

Kiku sighed.

"We offered to last time, but neither Gilbert nor Francis would have it. They said jade clashed with their looks."

Jett laughed.

"I'll talk to them. I am sure our Nordic friends would be able to help persuade them as well. Though Eduard tells me that Gilbert and Mathias aren't the best of friends at the moment. Too much border fighting lately."

"Ah, well that can happen."

"Also, Gilbert wants us all to meet up soon. It's been 56 years since our last meeting."

"Really, it's been this long?"

"Apparently."

"Then we look forward to that. When will it be?"

"Exactly two weeks from now. Tell Yao, though I have a feeling he won't show, as always."

"He's not very interested in their matters. I will go, I think Yao will want me to. And Leon will most likely join me."

Leon was another of Kiku's comrades. Yao had grown a large branch of vampires over the years. "How is Leon? I hear he had a rough run-in a while back?"

Kiku smiled.

"He is fine, my friend. He's on Iceland. He goes there a lot. I think he fancies... what was his name... Egil... Emil?."

"Emil? Really, he has never mentioned that with us, Then again, the guy rarely ever opens his mouth."

Both laughed.

Jett smirked. "Well, that was my report. I'll see you guys later?"

"Two weeks. I'll go and talk to Yao-san. I'll try to make him reconsider, my friend."

"Great, and tell your sisters that I said _hi_." Jett smirked at the thought of the cute little Asian girls in Yao's care.

"Will do, Ja ne!"

The call ended. Jett smirked. But he didn't get time to think about anything else, before he got a second call."

"_You've got an incoming message from William Rutherford._"

William? Now what could he want? He picked up the call.

"Jett, are you bloody there?"

A holographic projection of his former Child appeared before his vision.

"Have you gone blind, of course I am here. Now what's up mate?"

"What's up?" William glared at him. "I'm head over heels in problems. People are leaving my islands." He sounded awfully annoyed.

"That's tough." Jett admitted. "But you know what Gilbert said last meeting. We eat them, we can tempt them, but once their minds are set, we cannot do a bloody thing."

William crossed his arms. "I wasn't talking about that." The New Zealander said with a grunt. "I was talking about the crocodile problems."

Jett blinked. He did not understand what William meant. Crocodiles?

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Crocodiles, they've been sighted several times these last months. Australian ones, mate. They've been killing my farmers and a number of our sheep."

"Oh…"

"So…" William looked quite unhappy.

"So what?"

"How do I get rid of them?"

"Oh, well… think of crocks like angry mums. You make them upset and they will go for you."

William glared at him.

"You're no bloody help at all. I hope this isn't what Angus taught you, and if so he must have been one heck of a lousy guy."

Jett shook his head. "Angus was a good Maker, he was just busy."

"That's what they all say."

"You never complained."

"Fuck you... and fix this! I need my food supplies."

And William ended the call. He'd need to talk to William later. Right now he needed to think about what to tell Gilbert and Eduard next. He was curious about the meeting as well. Was it all pleasantries, or another problem to unfold. He couldn't tell. Today didn't seem to be one of those good days. He had no clue what that would literally mean.

The night was brisk and dark. A few streetlights shone, but they didn't get near illuminating the shadows that he loved. Little did he notice that it was getting even darker. Jett whistled, turning around to enter a shortcut to the club, where he hoped to find a light snack before dawn. It was a simple road that would take him to busier streets.

The darkness that surrounded him steadily grew thicker. The air itself became heavier. Still, the Australian vampire didn't seem to notice. He was whistling on a few more modern tunes, by some random singer. He couldn't even remember the name of the artist. Soon a thick cloud of black surrounded him, and he didn't even flinch.

And thus, the Australian never exited the path he took.

**Chapter 1**

_**Every story with an end,**_

_**Starts with a new beginning.**_

Iceland, the Observatory

The observatory is an odd building. First of all, it has no connections to any road that can be visible and secondly it cannot be found on any maps. People couldn't even see it unless its master would allow it to.

And Emil, the vampire of Iceland, did not fancy tourists or any other type of guest. When he moved to the island near 160 years ago he had been quick to set up the many protective spells that most of his kind used. Now he, like everyone else, lived in solitude. But Emil didn't really mind, he liked i. It gave him the opportunity that he needed to continue his endless work.

Or it seemed endless. And right now he found it difficult to concentrate. There were a pair of eyes watching him, lodged from one of his many shelves. He wasn't surprised that Leon could climb up his walls. No, that was a common ability for most vampires. What surprised him however was that the Chinese vampire hadn't left yet?

There was also this irritating, continuous sound of _pop, pop, pop…_

Emil glared at Leon. His Chinese friend was bored, he knew that. Leon had arrived a few hours after sunset, and spent his first hour trying to coax him to go out in town and prank humans with him. When this didn't work, he set to try and trick him to leaving, by pretending he was sick (vampires can't get sick). Now, he was simply bored and played with a ping pong ball and bat, bouncing the devilish item on the bat. Emil just wished he could make a mistake soon and drop the bloody item.

"Will you cut that out?!" the Icelandic vampire barked.

The sound stopped briefly.

"I'm bored. Aren't you finished yet?" Leon asked. "I want to do something, something else than just sit here."

"Well, you won't get to. I'm working. Don't you have anyone else in all of Europe to bother?"

Leon thought for moment. Then he said with an almost teasing expression:

"No, not really."

Emil felt like groaning, but that would be admitting defeat. So, instead he went back to his work and the microscope he had previously been bent over.

The _pop_ing started again. Emil let out a sigh, contemplating on what Yao would say if Leon arrived back with yet another broken arm? Not only did the Asian vampire's presence greatly disturb his work, but it also violated the usual rules that all vampires ought to stay within their borders. Emil looked down on the gold ring he was forced to wear for the occasion. All vampires tended to use their rings when other came to visit. You see, vampires are territorial, and two vampires staying close would usually mean a fight to death. The rings helped to stop this sensation. Even if vampires weren't all too easy to kill, it still hurt like hell to fight. And to keep suspicion down, it was easier to wear these rings during those short visits than to risk being discovered.

Emil looked up to his companion, who wore a similar ring made from pale jade. All vampires that were associated to Yao wore similar rings. The ring that Leon wore had some slight better qualities than their gold counterparts. Many, many years back they had all been given black bracelets with similar effects. The bracelets turned out to be severely flawed. Feliks, one of the European vampires that he, Emil, was associated with, had fallen seriously ill. The illness had gone on for several years. This caused some bad disturbances in their already weakened family. Vampires, who were known for being weaker than their own kind, had claimed nearly 90 % of Feliks territory before the Polish vampire felt well enough to fight back. Emil had still ben but a Child, by their terms. He had lived with his Maker, Lukas, in a small house at the Norwegian northern coast and since he was sensitive to changes his own ring didn't come to him until after he left Lukas' home.

Briefly Emil wondered what his former Maker was doing. It had been a while since they last spoke, Emil wasn't even sure how long it had been. Time passed so differently now that you passed your 250's birthday, or was it more? Nah, it wasn't really important.

He stopped in his actions, lost briefly in memories of himself and Lukas exploring the fjords of Norway. Often they'd gone out as soon as the sun set, and they'd stay out until an hour before the sun would rise. Lukas loved the sea, as did he. Before he had been turned his father would have taken him out, no, vampires aren't born like humans. They get turned.

From above the popping stopped. Leon looked down at him with a smile.

"Found something?" he asked, intrigued to know why his companion had seized moving. Emil shook his head, both to rid himself from his daydreams and to indicate that he yet had to figure something out.

"No." he said and sighed.

"Bummer, then I hope you don't mind then?"

Emil blinked, wondering what Leon was trying to say.

"What do you mean?" But Leon didn't answer him. The Chinese vampire had brought out another ping pong club and two more ping pong balls, and was juggling them with the clubs. Emil groaned. The popping got ten times worse.

Emil dove to one of the piles of various things that he had on the floor and dug out a small device with a speaker attached. He desperately needed to drown out this annoying noise. His home was a complete mess. Research notes, scientific gear and various other objects lay piled on top of each other. Near a hundred years of collected items had slowly grown into a huge pile of everything from important documents to take-away notes (which he had only taken because the woman had insisted that he'd do.

Emil turned on the speaker, and some sort of new song played. It was annoying, he like many others couldn't understand the modern music, but it was still better than the annoying sounds from above him.

The songs continued playing, until a newsbreak could be heard. Emil stopped momentarily to listen. Mostly, it was nothing to concern yourself about. The world was as it always was, and as usual Iceland was not involved in the trivial matters of war.

_"And latest from the excavations of the old Inkan ruins. Architects believe to have found a new buried city, found 150 metres below ground. The city seems to have sunk down through the ground, maybe from an earthquake or possible catastrophe. Still, the small crevices make investigations difficult, and two researchers have lost their lives exploring the cracks. This is Jorun Helgadótir, reporting from Peru."_

BANG!

Emil jumped in surprise as something exploded above him. He looked up to see a cloud of dust, and Leon lighting yet another small firecracker.

The Asian ginned at him, knowing very well that he finally had Emil's full attention.

"What the…" the Icelandic said angrily. "Are you trying to blow up my home?"

His answer was a shower of tiny little sparks. Emil wasn't known for fighting when the rings had an effect, but he didn't like the idea of Leon burning down his home. With inhuman agility he leapt up after Leon, who was prepared and leapt away. The two vampires continued chasing each other until sunset, where they both had to stop to rest for when the daylight took over.

-000-

Copenhagen

It was like everyone expected the worst. Lukas sighed watching human afar human pass him, Many were coughing badly. Lately the flu symptoms had become worse and worse with every year, and Copenhagen was packed with them. It seemed this year would be a _cold_ year.

It was late, so most humans were on their way home. Lukas had another goal, Mathias had called him to ask him to come to the royal palace. It had been almost 50 years since the last Danish king had abdicated his throne. Only England had a monarchy left, and as Peter had told them, he doubted that would ever change.

The palace was still heavily guarded, seeing as the building held high historical and cultural value. But dodging humans was easy, since they rarely looked up. Luks had no problem to break in, and meet Mathias in one of the many halls. Once in history a human may have taken a notice of their kind, but it had been years since Lukas had heard humans mention vampires in anything apart from fiction. Lukas jumped down from the window ledge to the second floor and through a window that was broken and hadn't been closed. He landed almost soundlessly on the carpet floor and quickly approached the chamber where Mathias waited.

As soon as he closed the door behind him he couldn't help but to sigh out loud.

Mathias was on the floor, crouched over a women, who looked like a security guard based on her clothing. Lukas steeled himself, ready for anything. Mathias wasn't one of those vampires who would attack just about anyone. Most times Mathias had ever drained other lifeforms had been when he had been close to starving, or the madness that was even more common. But, as the older Dane turned Lukas couldn't see any hints of it. Mathias smiled back at him, as he dropped the now lifeless corpse.

"Ah, Lukas. I knew you'd come."

"Mathias… what's the meaning of this?"

Mathias blinked stupidly at first, then it hit him and he hit himself lightly on the head.

"Oh… you mean her?" he nudged the corpse with his left foot

"Oh, don't mind this. She was just a… let's say personal issue."

Lukas didn't reply, but raised an eyebrow at the cryptic answer.

"Explain."

"Well… she was following me, and kept on following me no matter what I did. I tried to tell her that I had no intentions to court her, but she ignored me. She even dressed as a guard to come see me."

Lukas shook his head.

"She was some kind of psychic. I never told her anything, not whom we are, what we do, where I was going. She seemed to know. I panicked… I guess… I guess this was the easiest way."

Lukas shook his head. Most of what Mathias said made no sense, psychic people weren't unheard of but extremely rare. Still, right now wasn't the time to scold his lover for anything. They needed to move, and find another place to talk (which wasn't difficult when you were in the company of the vampire of Denmark). He grabbed the taller blond by the arm and only seconds later they were gone. The guards would within minutes raise the alarm that a burglar was found dead inside the old palace. But as for why she was dead, who she had been, those questions would remain a mystery.

-000-

Later that same evening the two vampires had taken new residence in a smaller house by the outskirts of Copenhagen. By now Mathias was calm enough to talk, and to rationalise again. Lukas didn't see any need to scold him more than the usual: "You know the consequences" speech. The Dane was already shaken. It wasn't unheard for the Dane to kill someone, he had been born as a genuine Viking, but he rarely did now. Dead people were a huge hassle since there were so many cameras now. Undoubtedly, they would have to leave Denmark for few years, or someone would eventually recognise them. Lukas hated running, h had enough of that from that time, so many years back, when they still believed that some humans had hunted them.

And… Lukas had other things on his mind.

"If you're done moping, maybe you can regain some of your rare senses and help me with a few things." The Norwegian said slightly annoyed by Mathias uncharacteristic behaviour. They had taken residence in the living room. Mathias style of furnishing a smaller accommodation differed from his otherwise huge castle. It was a cosy small house, with everything a human family would need in space.

Mathias didn't answer him.

"For fuck's sake, she wasn't Kristina." Lukas reminded him, not that h would know her. Kristina had died many years before he himself had been born.

"I know that." Mathis retorted.

"Then, why are you so upset?" Lukas asked, not understanding what was eating on his lover's mind.

Mathias sighed.

"She's he second one this week. I thought it'd be done and over with by now."

Lukas' eyes widened slightly in surprise. Had humans figured them out... _again?_

"Yeah… I could kill Gilbert, if he was just close." Mathias muttered.

"What does Gilbert have to do with you killing humans?"

"His problems. Somehow it's slipped to what he is and… it started a fanclub. Don't ask me how, I don't get humans. But, someone saw me with him a few weeks back and now they've started to hunt me as well."

Lukas got to his feet and anxiously walked to gaze through the window.

"Don't worry, it won't spread. Gil has killed the other five, made it look like some sort of ritual. There were only seven girls."

"How can you be sure there weren't more? How do you know they haven't raised the alarm?"

Mathias chuckled.

"Oh, my poor little Norge. It's the 22nd century now. Humans stopped believing in us unnatural beings a century ago. Even Yao says that Chinese humans lost their superstitions. They need to see something to believe it."

"Like you and Gilbert? What did you do?"

"Fought. The idiot is sniffing by my borders. I sent him packing, he's not nearly as strong as Ludwig used to be."

Mathias leaned closer. A knowing smile played on his lips.

"But this isn't why _you_ came, now is it?"

"No, it's not."

Mathias smirk widened to a grin. "The only two reasons you seek me out is a, if you want sex or b, something is bothering you. As much as I can tell, it's the latter isn't it? Though I wish it wasn't, it's been a while since last time."

"Yes."

"Then, what has happened?"

"It's Emil."

"Yeah… and?"

"He's changed. He's so distant."

"Have you tried calling him?" Mathias asked.

"Of course I have." Lukas felt almost annoyed. "But he never tells me anything. Heck, I doubt he's been outside at all these last 10-20 years."

"Why on Earth for? Is he working on something big?"

"I don't know. I think it's the usual projects. He doesn't tell me much."

Mathias leaned back in his chair and raised a hand to his chin.

"Well… considering how much alike you two are, I wouldn't worry too much. After all, when you left it took forever before you'd talk to me. And I've heard he's not completely on his own. And it's in everyone's interest."

"Really? Since when did you become this smart?"

Mathias aughed. "Well, even I have my moments. And I have heard rumours flying, Gil wants Emil's project to succeed, he just wants it done as soon as possible. And Kiku called. He wanted to talk about that, actually. Apparently Leon, you remember him right? Chinese guy who followed Emil around. He's been hanging around Emil quite often lately. Keeps Yao updated about Emil's discoveries."

"Often? How often?"

"Often enough for Yao to take notice that Leon is never home. He's not very happy about it as well. Unlike us they all live under the same roof, and Yao wants it that way."

_TBC_

_Every story with an end,_

_Starts with a new beginning._

-000-

A/N: Holy moly, this chapter took literally forever to finish. But here it is, the sequel of BBI and the final instalment in the Bites series.

I am fully aware that Leon/Hong Kong is meant to humanize the area of Hong Kong, but since Hong Kong is a part of China again, I decided to make him fully Chinese. He was still born in Hong Kong, but I'll reference him as Chinese. The only person among the four China-personifications that can keep her nationality is Taiwan (Mei), because by nationality most people of Taiwan have been considered Taiwanese, by Western standards (I am not sure how mainland China thinks about this).

I apologise as well for the massive amount of things in this chapter, but when I started writing the plot was _very_ complicated. A lot of early ideas have been ditched to make things easier to follow. Mathias killing someone here wasn't extremely important, but to get Lukas annoyed.

I also will need to apologise to you all for waiting for the sequel.. But, I seriously have had no time to write. And, since I'm working on two stories simultaneously, updates will slow down by a lot. I hope to be able to update once every 2 weeks, but we'll see. Nonetheless, this story will finish one day. I don't make two notebook pages of chapter-drafts per chapter to just scrap my projects. But, it will soon be my final years at university, so yeah… it's a busy year to come.

But until then, hope you enjoyed and please tell me what you think.


	2. With questions asked, it's hard to tend

Bloody hell, Chinese timezones, how difficult should it be to get used to them. A few days in a row, and I'm wake at night and half dead during afternoons. No fair! Not to mention how bad this Internet is... how many times haven't you crashed already? Sigh... thankfully fanfiction doesn't require a lot... I can still enjoy a good story between crashes.

Anyway... if you only knew how much I am beginning to love writing about Emil's puffin. Yes, I am one strange author but ever since I was a young girl I remember liking to write about animals with a little more intelligence that can be normal.

**Bites, Distance, Devotion**

**Chapter 2**

**With questions asked, it's hard to tend,**

**To horrors when they are winning.**

Emil sighed as he listened to the silence that had seemed so distantly in the past up until now. He had missed the sound of nothing for quite some time. Leon had finally decided to head back to China for the time being, which left the Icelandic vampire to tend to himself. Emil shook his head at the Leon's reluctance to head home from the start. Leon probably wouldn't even have left unless Yao, the oldest living vampire to date, had been very persistent. The last few days they spent together had been a mixture of calls and emails to the Chinese vampire. In the end it had evolved to pure threats before Leon agreed to return to Yao's palace in China.

There was a faint sound of a truck leaving the observatory. Ivan the undertaker had agreed to stop by for a brief moment to assist him to throw away some of the huge amount of junk that had been collected over the years With a content grunt he stretched, happy to finally have sorted through some of his old failed experiments, piles of manuscripts, old hard drives that had burnt out and gifts (mainly from Leon). He didn't fancy cleaning, after all a decade would just make things just as bad as it had been before, but even he had to admit that it had to be done once in a while.

Though, now that he thought about it, Lukas' home had always been kept dust-free. He'd need to ask his brother about it next time he'd visit,

Maybe he should call him right now? Oh wait...

Something poked him on the foot. He looked down to see his puffin-companion poke him vigorously.

"What do you think? Should we break the silence and ask Lukas over?"

His friend simply looked at him and ruffled his feathers. Then he turned to pursue a tank that stood at a far end of the room. It was something Emil had placed there when he realised that all his research tended to make him forget that his puffin needed to eat. His puffin had a seemingly endless lifespan, thanks to ancient magic, but it didn't stop it from getting hungry at least twice a day, With a smile playing over his lips he watched his companion waddle over to the large tank and dive in. The little creature was an excellent swimmer.

But his puffin only had time to swallow one fish before Emil felt a familiar tug. Snarling he felt the presence of someone having entered his borders, and he was overwhelmed by the instinct to kill. It is that kind of feeling you get when you know that the worst is coming, and yet stronger as it is filled not with fear but this intense feeling of hatred and murder. His puffin looked up questionably at him, as he rushed through the door. It was close to midnight, a good hour to kill someone.

In order to kill a vampire the most effective method is to expose them to the sun. The sun, the holiest power of them all, has the power to burn and ashen the demonic creature. Vampires is technically just a name for a demon, which they all were. But unlike most demons you may have heard of, the vampires aren't born demons, they are made into them. If a human dies, without any blessings of salvation and injected with a venom that vampires use to open the gateway of hell within the dying body, the body of the human dies and is reborn as a moving corpse. Unlike zombies, the vampire retains his or her memories of her past life, but your life becomes filled with hunger and the need to quench it. You also build your own hunting ground, like many who feast on hunting others, you need our area to give chase and pray to someone if you cross that line,

The windy breeze from the ocean felt like needles on his skin as Emil ran towards the coast. His speed was fast, and it didn't take long for him to reach shore. He arrived just in time to see a familiar blond bent over two now dead corpses. He was another vampire, like Emil. He obviously had to subdue those humans, as there had been some level of fighting. Emil noted a gun on the ground. The other vampire looked up, a trail of blood was visible from the thin lips. Lukas Bondevik had visited him without alerting him beforehand.

Many decades back Lukas had been the one who made Emil a vampire, by draining his blood and injecting his own. He had never intended to, but once he got to his senses it was too late and he had no choice but to do it. The accident could be explained, as it turned out that Emil was the reincarnation of Lukas' deceased brother Erik.

For a brief moment both vampires stood eyeing the other. To anyone it would seem like they'd be surprised to see each other, and maybe that could be true. But Emil waited for Lukas to make the first move.

But Lukas didn't move from where he stood.

Instead Norwegian vampire raised his hand to show him a golden ring on his finger.

Despite the massive need to kill his Maker, Emil understood. Lukas had arrived, but sealed away his urges before arrival. Emil wasn't wearing his, so the urges hit him hard. Figuring Lukas wouldn't make a move the younger vampire dashed forward.

Lukas had expected and parried his attack.

Emil was thrown over the Norwegian vampire's shoulder, but quickly regained his footing. With a snarl he kicked back hard. Lukas seemed to have expected this as well, or maybe he acted out of reflexes, but he caught Emil's leg.

Emil was thrown away by a few metres and didn't land much too gracefully. He felt the ground on his back. Lukas rushed him, but close to impact Emil kicked him back hard. Lukas flew back, in some surprise, and landed with a thud, Emil scrambled to his feet only to find that there was a glowing ring around him, and he couldn't move away from it.

But the magic didn't keep Lukas away, who obviously had planned this and swiftly proceeded to knock him out. Emil didn't get much of a warning before he felt the fist connect with his jaw, heard the sound of a crack, followed by immense pain and then complete darkness,

-000-

He woke up later in his coffin, with a pounding headache and yet the foggy instincts seemed to be gone. The lid was closed, so there was no telling at what time it was. He looked down to see the faint trace of his ring. He didn't feel the urge to kill, and he was sure Lukas was waiting for him. That explained a lot.

As on cue there was a knock on his lid. Grunting he pushed his coffin open. But it wasn't Lukas who had knocked.

It was his puffin, obviously concerned for his wellbeing,

Once the lid opened the small bird mad happy sounds and jumped onto him. The small dark bird made content sounds to see him well once more and seemed to refuse to leave his side. Emil allowed it to get comfortable while he looked around. The blinds in the conservatory were down, but Emil still saw the faint traces of sunlight behind them. Further away he noted Lukas, who seemingly had decided to rest beneath his desk. The older vampire had found a mattress that he had brought out to get some form of comfort.

Nonetheless, there was no point in waking if the sun was out. With a yawn Emil grabbed the edge of his lid and proceeded to shut himself in for the day. To his surprise his puffin wanted to stay with him. The Icelandic vampire had no reason to argue (the bird had since long gotten used to its master's strange sleeping patterns).

Soon Emil felt the familiar sensation of his body dying. Within minutes he too was resting, lulled to sleep by his puffin's silent breaths.

-000-

Neither of the vampires woke up until the sun set. The puffin had, and when Emil woke up the small bird was pecking his side softly. It wanted to get out and eat breakfast. Still half asleep Emil opened the lid, so that the puffin could jump out and hurry to his fishtank. He had not expected to see Lukas bent over him, waiting for him to wake up.

"Good evening, sleepyhead."

"Lukas? What time is it?"

"Half past midnight. I guess I beat you well. Your little friend seemed almost desperate to get out."

Emil blinked and sat up swiftly.

"Half past… why didn't you wake me up?" Lukas merely laughed. Emil quickly regretted his decision of quick actions, because his head stared to pound again. The younger vampire groaned.

"Maye this is why. You still have things you need to learn it seems."

"Like what?"

Lukas didn't answer, instead he threw Emil's caller to him. There was a screen that flashed:

_Reminder: Meeting in Moscow, in four days_

Emil blinked, then he scrambled out of his coffin.

"Fuck… I forgot!"

He was met with a knowing smile.

"I thought you had, which is why I am here. Tino and Berwald are going to pick us up in Oslo. I booked a late flight for us. It leaves tomorrow at 10."

Emil groaned. He got the fleeting sensation of déjà vu, but he wasn't fully sure if this came from his own memories, or one of his past lives. His memories had a tendency to fool him. Still he watched as Lukas browsed through his collection of old manuscripts and documents. One of Lukas' loves, apart from his annoying lover, was magic. Emil had some skills of magic himself, but didn't know nearly as much as Lukas, who could now pride himself by being the foremost expert in the field. Well, expert among all of those born from Aldric¨s and Julius' branches.

Emil still had quite the impressive collection of old Icelandic manuscripts. And since the scripts were mainly originals Lukas now had switched his interests to see if there was anything new for him there. The former master of magic had been Arthur, but with his sudden death many years back, the vampires of Europe often would seek Lukas out for spells.

"By the way, how is your research going?" the Norwegian asked, taking out a thin scroll from one of the stacks.

"The usual."

"Not getting anywhere?"

"Well, it's a hard nut to crack. Leon brought samples of herbs that Yao use, but there has not been a permanent solution. Trust me, I would have called if I knew something."

"We're just worried about you. Apart from me and well… Leon, no one ever sees you. You rarely go outside your borders and some of the younger ones even forgot that you exist. I know we're all territorial and that we shouldn't meet up, but you could make yourself known."

Emil shook his head.

"You don't have an island to rule. Lukas, I have no natural border to any of you. I chose to stay here because this island has always been my home, and I feared all of you. Back then I had little to no confidence of my fighting skill, and I refused, and I still refuse, to hurt anyone."

"My point is, you shouldn't isolate yourself. Your research is a matter for everyone. People want to help you, but no one knows how, because they all feel like they barely know anything about you."

"Well, and what do you think?" Emil asked. The whole conversation sounded as if Lukas was reciting something Gilbert most likely had said.

"I personally think Mathias should stop spending so many days by his Southern borders." Lukas chuckled. "You know, it's weird since Gilbert claimed Ludwig's old ground. That man used to be so carefree and almost run from things that would seem too complicated, but now. Well, no it's like he's slowly turning to a second Ludwig."

The two vampires looked at each other and broke into a fit of laughter. From his tank the puffin eyed them in slight surprise.

Emil was so busy laughing – something that very rarely occurred since he wasn't the type of person to find much to laugh about – that he didn't notice Lukas walking up to him to embrace him in a hug. For a few minutes the two allowed themselves to share this act of brotherly love, until Emil let go. Lukas still questionable affection for him could be quite embarrassing.

"You said we're leaving tomorrow, right?" The Icelandic asked, trying to find something to break the now potent silence in the room.

"Yeah, Gilbert wants everyone to gather in Moscow. Ivan's old place is still safe."

Emil shook his head.

"Anything new that I've missed over these last few years? That I ought to know about before I see everyone else?"

"Not much… but since we'll be travelling with Tino and Berwald, they've been fighting again."

"Fighting, them? Since when?"

Lukas shook his head.

"You'd be surprised, but they fight quite often. I think Tino still hasn't forgiven Berwald for all he did before Tino was turned."

"I thought Berwald loves Tino. Heck, he near died trying to protect him back when… back when…" Emil didn't finish. The memories of those events brought some painful memories back.

"They have quite the history together. But I'll tell you about that later."

"Really, has that much been happening?"

Lukas smirked. "A lot." was the short version of his answer, but Emil wanted to know more. The Norwegian vampire motioned for them to sit by Emil's desk.

"Gilbert and Feliks are fighting. This isn't rare, Gilbert has probably fought most of us at one point by now, but since Gilbert has grown his territory exponentially Feliks attacked him. So far the fight seems to lead to no conclusion, just issues for the rest of us. All lesser vampires fled the area and into our own. I've never had to kill and chase so many from my home since we thought humans hunted us."

_Thank goodness for islands_, Emil thought and sighed.

"Peter finished claiming the last of the British Isles a few days back, and even went as far as reclaiming some of the islands Arthur once owned when his humans travelled at their farthest. But, some of the islands were islands Matthew and Alfred lay claims on after Arthur sent them away. The islands weren't that important, to what Matthew reported, but since they're both older they cannot take Peter seriously. Especially since Alfred held such respect for Arthur.

"Seems like everyone are building new borders." Emil commented, quite happy he didn't have any true threats here.

"Yes indeed. Elizaveta has become relentless herself. She stomped into Transylvania and took Vlad's old home. Seems like no one else wanted it, and she had the closest ties to him. She's torn his old hideout to pieces as well, so if we missed any rooms they're gone now."

"Good. I don't want to think about that place." Emil said with a shudder.

The conversation then continued along the line of the events that had occurred for the brief moment when Lukas thought he might lose his brother. They talked until the sun was slowly set to rise. Emil went to find his spare coffin for him. The coffin was slightly smaller than Lukas' own, but it made the older vampire feel safer.

Emil lay down to the sound of his puffin settling down on the lid. When morning broke, he still had a funny dream. In his dream he was back in Transylvania, back to when Vlad was still alive… back to when Vlad had made himself Emil's maker. The Romanian vampire had been talking to him, but not in the twisted ways he had back during that horrible period of his life, no. He had been very rational, discussing such important topics as to Emil's research was going.

-000-

It was a clear, star filled night that met them the next morning.

As Emil's body slowly returned to mobility, he realised this would be the first time in ages that he'd have to leave his coffin behind. And to his surprise he found himself missing the comfort. At first he didn't want to awaken, he felt comfortable lying where he lay. But the sound of his puffin screeching vividly made him throw up the lid.

The sight that met him was far from as chaotic as he believed it to be. Lukas had caught some fish, and was hand feeding the small bird. The puffin was very excited, Lukas was one of the few that had never had problems to approach it.

The puffin made what looked like a dance around the Norwegian's feet. The older vampire looked over to Emil, and nodded.

"Good, you're up. The sun set a few minutes ago. If you hurry you can catch breakfast before we set off."

"What about you?"

"Remember those idiots I came with? I had a hearty meal." Lukas admitted.

"Ok." Emil said, and shrugged. Within the minute he was gone, out towards the open field.

And it didn't take long for him to find a decent meal. There were a farm of sheep not far from his home that at the moment had been unattended. To drain them took little time. He decided still to drink a little more than necessary, as it had been a while since he last fed, and his wounds must have drained a lot of his usual energy.

He returned after an hour, with a napkin to his lips. A few drops of blood had lingered on his lips, and blood was an annoyance to get rid of. And if it stained your clothes then every human would ask why, and they would be flying to their first destination.

"Got your papers?" Lukas asked. He and the puffin were holding a staring contest. Lukas had a bag slung over his shoulder.

"One minute." Emil answered, walked over to one of his shelves and took down a thin folder. Shortly after he had laid claim on Iceland, Emil had received these documents from Eduard. They were fake identifications for times when he needed to make his appearance known. And he got new ones every five years. The documents were quite simple, had a supposed date of his supposed birth, birthplace and were accessible through databases. To the humans he would seem like a 23 year old young man. In reality, he was older than your grandfather.

Emil put the folder into his own carrier, unhooked his keys from a knob and lead Lukas out. But he didn't get further than a few feet before he heard a familiar sound,

"Gwak?"

It was the puffin. It hurried after him, as quickly as its tiny legs could carry it.

Emil turned. The small bird caught up to them, and proceeded to tug on his trousers.

Emil bent down to pat it on the head.

"Sorry, Mr Puffin, but Norwegian air don't allow birds on their flights. You'll have to stay here. I'll be back in a few days, Watch the place until then."

Emil heard Lukas give a snort of laughter. The puffin rose to the tip of its webbed feet, and puffed its chest widely. It gave, what sounded, like a loud snort. It wasn't happy at all.

"Sorry, my old friend. I'll try to get back as soon as I can."

Emil turned, but gave one last wink before he and Lukas sped off towards the airport. Neither of them saw the small bird turn around and walk towards the direction of the sea. It flapped its wings, flew towards the ocean, and dove down. Who knows where it was going.

-000-

_With questions asked, it's hard to tend,_

_To horrors when they are winning._

-000-

A/N: For all of you who read BBI, then I feel bad for repeating events but there are always those who haven't read the first story. And to all you new readers, welcome and I hope you were able to follow this storyline,


	3. The passing of seasons can make

Holy fucking week... Sorry for swearing, but China loves to give its students extra lessons before a holiday, and it's been stressful. Sadly, even on a holiday I am not free * glares at a huge pile of homework*. Anyway, I still (somehow) managed to complete this chapter. But don't ask me how, I don't know...

**Bites, Distance, Devotion**

**Chapter 3**

_The passing of seasons can make the heart grow harsh,_

_To love and to understand._

The first sight that met them as they had gone through the arrivals' gate was the overly excited Mathias waving enthusiastically.

"Lukas, Lukas! Over here!" the Dane shouted. Beside him, Emil could see Lukas fume. Emil therefore knew what was coming long before Lukas had walked up to his lover and given him a proper punch. Emil watched as Mathias keeled over. A small crowd had gathered to stare at the scene before Lukas said:

"I've told you a million times, and I'm tired of saying this, but never, ever do that _thing of yours_. It drives me insane.

From the floor Mathias was patting his bruised cheek, before he gave one of his trademark smirks. Lukas ignored him, slung his bag over his shoulder and walked ahead. Mathias got back on his feet, brushed off some dust that had gathered on his clothes when he fallen over. The older vampire leaned down and said:

"He doesn't say it much. But he loves me."

Emil forced a smile on his face.

Lukas, meanwhile, had walked ahead of them, and now turned. "Aren't you guys coming? They're waiting for us."

"Coming, love!" Mathias said and grinned. He ran ahead, caught up to his lover and gently placed his arm over the Norwegian's shoulder. Emil noted that Lukas didn't seem to even think about telling Mathias off for showing his affection so openly. He guessed that his Maker had gotten too used to small things like this.

There was a cold autumn breeze that met them once they exited the doors to the airport. They were met by the usual guards, two small robots that were there to check on visitors for anything illegal. The robots ignored them, as neither of them had anything of interest to show.

Outside, by the parking, stood Tino, who greeted them warmly with hugs. The Finnish vampire had brought a light blue truck that was usually used for package deliveries. But, Tino was nowhere in sight. Emil was surprised, for all the time he had known the pair, they always seemed to arrive together. Even that one time when they had unexpectantly arrived at his home, Tino had clung to Berwald as if they had been glued together. Lukas seemed quite unphased, but Mathias was looking around maniacally, expecting the Swede to be somewhere close.

"Where's Berwald?" the Dane finally asked, when he realised that Berwald was truly missing,

Tino's usually cheerful expression saddened slightly and he sighed.

"Inside." He answered. "Which reminds me, Emil do you mind accompanying me at the front?"

Emil was quite shocked by this question, it was a first.

"Er… not really." He said and followed Tino to the front. The Finnish vampire sat down behind the steering wheel. Unlike the cars that Emil had drown when he was still human, the modern steering consisted of a wheel and a large number buttons. Tino seemed to know which buttons to press, and he had obviously kept up with the development of driving, because he wasn't even phased by the many strange buttons on the board."

"_Please choose your destination."_ A female voice said.

"Destination: Ivan's in Moscow." Tino said in a clear order.

"_Destination confirmed. Please lean back and enjoy your ride."_

Emil blinked. "It drives by itself?" he asked.

"Most vehicles have for the last hundred years. Really brings the fun out of it." Tino explained. "I miss the old cars, the one you almost had to beg to move."

Emil thought for a moment.

"What was it like, driving for the first time? Sitting behind the wheel?"

Tino smiled. "I was terrified my first time. Berwald wanted to be the driver first, but he had such bad eyesight that no one would dare to allow him anywhere near a wheel. Finally, he managed to persuade them to take me for a ride. I was so scared that day, I was sure I was going to kill us all, not that it mattered really, I mean we'd be bruised and broken but something that small wouldn't kill us. But you know, I hate hurting humans. And I was worried about my instructor."

"How did it go?"

"It went fine, I mean, I didn't kill us. But I did end up in a bush. I was terrified after that, and swore never to go near one."

Tino sighed.

"But, the next night I had changed my mind. So, I took the car by myself. I guess knowing how much Berwald truly wanted me to find my own skill in something less violent and wishing to help him made me change my mind. And once I was calmer I truly enjoyed driving. Maybe it's not as fast as we can move, but the silent roads are just, so calming."

Emil smiled.

"Maybe I should give it a go again."

"You should." Tino said enthusiastically. "You never know when you need it. Berwald drives now, but he likes it more when I drive. And I don't mind, it gives me time to think."

The Finn slid his hand through his hair and sighed.

"Like now," he admitted in a quizzical way.

Emil blinked. He had suspected something was wrong, but now he was almost sure of it.

"What's wrong?" he asked, not sure what was going on.

Tin sighed. "It's Berwald." He admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it' hard to explain." Tino said and sighed. But Emil didn't want to give up. Finally, the Finn spoke.

"Well, it started a few weeks ago."

-000-

**Åland, July 2178**

Tino was spent, and so tired. Many of their kind knew that Berwald had the strength and courage to rival a lion, but few knew that he had the stamina to rival that of a worker-ant. Tino felt contently as the larger vampire snuggled closer to him, to share some of the warmth that slowly was evaporating from their heated bodies. Tino listened contently to Berwald's heart, pumping what little blood that had to be in those veins.

The larger Swede growled playfully, while he started to kiss Tino's already bruised neck and down to his collarbone. Tino felt a warm hand touch his abdomen, and he squealed when Berwald started stroking him once again.

Stamina, remember…

"Berwald… Berwald… oh… w-wait…"

Berwald merely growled and continue his ministrations with much more vigour. Tino moaned tiredly as the Swede quickened his strokes. Lips travelled further down to encircle one of his already oversensitive nipples.

"Argh, Berwald… don't… ah… no… ah…"

Berwald's hand had travelled down to touch his entrance. One finger entered him, and Tino wanted to yell out from both pleasure yet pain from overuse. Berwald silence him however with a kiss.

'Damn for loving this man.' Tino thought, listening to Berwald's groans. A second finger entered him, stretched him gently before something much larger entered him.

"Berwald… ah… AAH…" Tino screamed, breaking the kiss. Berwald stared to move almost as soon as he entered him. In one way he could forgive him for speeding it up, because they had done it several times since their arrival on the island. But at the same time, because they had done it several times already he was still painfully sore.

It was literally agony and pleasure mixed. Berwald adjusted his angle slightly when he realised that Tino was still mainly in pain. It forced yet another cry from Tino, this time in pleasure as Berwald hit the right spot. The Swede smirked and sped up.

A thin layer of sweat coated the Swede a he pounded his lover feverously. He came first, and stroked Tino a few times until the Finn came as well.

Tino was panting when Berwald bent down to kiss him. Tino kissed back, and prayed this was the final one. Then again, that was what he had hoped for the last three times.

Tino sighed defeated as Berwald exited him and lay down beside him, only to proceed by petting his hair.

They lay like that for another ten minute or so. Tino was almost asleep for exhaustion when he felt familiar lips and a hand starting to stroke him again."

"What the hell? Stop it!" Tino shouted, and threw his Swedish lover off him. He landed with a thud on the floor.

It took a few seconds for Tino's tired brain to realise what he had done, but then he leaned over the side to look at Berwald and his still confused expression.

"Enough…" Tino ordered. "I know this is where we meet to make love, but I cannot do it anymore."

Berwald stared at him.

"You don't love me?"

Tino stared at him disbelieving. How could Berwald even think something like that about him? After all they had been through together.

"I love you." Tino answered. "But it's like you're using me."

"Using you?"

"Yes, for sex."

"I thought you liked it."

"I do." Tino sat up. "But you've made me go beyond my limit."

Berwald looked down, almost as if he was ashamed of himself.

"I see." He said. Without anything more said he got dressed and left. He didn't even say goodbye before he left. Tino waited for minutes for him to return, but he never did. Finally Tino fell asleep s the sun grazed the world with its presence, and when Tino woke up, Berwald had left the small island.

-000-

A month passed, and still no sign or word from Berwald. This was very strange, as of all the time Tino had known the man, the only time Berwald had tried to stay away from him was during those years he was still human, and thought he would hurt Tino with his presence.

But Tino had been human then, of course. Berwald could have hurt him easily, after all the man was insanely strong. Even for a vampire.

As of the moment Tino stood on the ferry between Finland and Stockholm, Sweden, enjoying the gush of wind in his hair and the smell of the sea. A few seagulls had flown into the Baltic Sea and were making a fuss over a large fish one of them had fished. Tino smirked as he watched them, and wondered for a moment how long it would take for him to nab that fish, most likely less time than he estimated. The birds didn't seem very sharp, because they dropped the fish halfway into the fight and didn't notice until five seconds later. Then they all dove down to catch it.

Tino chuckled as a horn sounded and the ferry hit the docks. The gold ring gleamed on his finger, he was sure Berwald would be surprised to see him, perhaps even too surprised. Tino knew very well how Berwald behaved when the urges hit him. Which is why he had a small gun loaded, for safety.

But Berwald didn't lure on him, or attack him, or even make himself known. Tino wondered if his lover might be out on errands. But it was rare for him not to alert Tino before he left. Maybe, maybe Berwald was still angry, but he was sure his lover ought to have cooled off by now. Berwald rarely stayed angry for long, and it would usually result in another meeting and a few nights together. So, where was Berwald now?

Tino shrugged. Thankfully, he knew all of Berwald's favourite homes that he would frequently visit. Unlike Mathias, who had kept to his huge castle, Berwald liked to move around. He always had, even back when his territories had been bigger and very difficult to keep. Tino sighed, and steered his steps towards Gamla Stan, one of Berwald old favourite lodges.

Among several hundreds of years old buildings Tino soon found his destination, one of the oldest buildings among them. It was a pretty small building, with a narrow staircase that lead up to small, but cosy rooms. Berwald once told him that he got one of those rooms from a Swedish noble he dated briefly during the 16th century. Sadly, she died shortly after they met, which was a shame. She was a pretty nice lady.

Tino dashed up the narrow staircase and soon found himself outside Berwald's apartment.

He was about to knock, when he overheard something very suspicious, and alarming."

"Ah, master Berwald… yes… yes… ah… yes…"

Tino blinked. Then his eyes widened slightly at the realisation of what was going on behind that locked door.

Feeling angrier and more hurt than he had done in centuries he stepped back a few steps, then threw himself against the door. He didn't care if humans noticed. He needed to get in there, he needed to confront Berwald at once.

"Berwald?!" he called out once the door hit the ground.

Two men lay on the bed, in an obvious action of pleasure. This wasn't something that was new for Tino, considering how long he had willingly laid down for Berwald. But this time it wasn't him moaning Berwald's name.

It was someone else, a vampire clearly, but not someone he recognised. If it had been Lukas, Mathias, Gilbert or anyone else that they knew, he would have been much calmer. It hadn't been the first time they had sought comfort in someone else's arms. But this vampire was far from one of them, he was among the lesser ones, Tino couldn't tell by the smell alone.

The lesser vampire looked at him once, panic shone in his eyes, and then he scrambled into his clothes and ran. Berwald slowly sat up. Judging by the state of how he behaved, that lesser vampire had not just been claimed once, or maybe there had been more than one.

He needed to know.

"How many?" Tino asked, with ice in his voice.

Berwald wasn't looking at him. Instead he spoke to his knees.

"14."

"What?"

"Fourteen."

There was a slapping noise. Tino had slapped him across the face, hard. Berwald didn't even comment on it.

"I've always thought highly of you, but it seems I was mistaken." Tino commented bitterly and left.

And for several weeks, they did their best to avoid each other, as much as possible.

-000-

"So, this is why you wanted someone else here instead." Emil concluded after Tino had finished the story.

"Yeah, I know it's been a while now, but I still cannot handle it. He betrayed me. And we've always been… we've always been…"

Tino looked slightly saddened. Emil could tell that this actually hurt. But sometimes all these crazy love triangles within the group made no sense to him. He knew very well about those, he had spent over a century of his life with Lukas. And that experience had given him tons of information how hearbreak could be.

"Have you _tried_ speaking to him since?"

Tino sighed.

"I haven't."

"You probably should. Lukas used to say that _the best way to deal with an idiot is to say I out loud._"

Tino smirked. "He was talking about Mathias, wasn't he?"

"Who else?" Emil answered.

It looked as if mentioning Lukas and Mathias helped Tino cope with the separation a little.

"Oh those two. You know, when I was around your age, I used to sneak over to their borders to watch them. Of course, Berwald and I saw each other regularly. It was bloody painful, but luckily humans started losing their suspicious nature around then, and Europe was dealing with World War 2 at the time, so most people were too occupied to worry about daydreams. In any case, this was back when Lukas got really annoyed at Mathias. You see Lukas stayed in Oslo when the bombings were at their worst, and Mathias hurried over at every mention of bombs on the news. After five on these visits, in which they fought one on open streets, Lukas had enough and cut all ties with him. Or so I thought, until I saw him a few years later. He told me that he talked it over on the phone. After a few weeks they talked on regular basis again. He said talking helps, even when you don't want to."

Emil nodded. However… "That sounds interesting, coming from Mr Antisocial himself."

Tino smiled at him, and laughed.

"It's strange sometimes how similar you two can be." He commented.

"What do you mean…?" he asked, before he understood. It had, after all, been years since he last talked to Tino. Even if he considered Tino to be a… friend. "Oh…"

"It has been a while, and neither of us have heard from you. Lukas talks often of your work though."

Emil sighed.

"What does he say?"

"He's proud of you. You work hard. And I've heard that things have gone well."

"Really?" Emil sighed. He simply couldn't help but to think of the million mistakes he made on a daily basis.

"Yes, Kiku came over a few months back. You see, he wanted me to test a new version of the ring. He told me that Leon had returned to blend some of your research with his small knowledge of powders, and with your help he was able to make a new alloy for the rings. It works really well too. I am still wearing mine, and have been for a few months. It works better than the old versions."

Emil blinked.

"Surprised?"

"Yeah…" Emil admitted. "I wasn't aware that he even noticed what I did."

Tino laughed. "I've only been at Yao's palace once, but his clan is very productive. Yao master at herbal remedies and ancient alchemy. Doesn't surprise me, he probably invented it with his age. Kiku works spiritually, and he has a fauna of creatures that he cares for. Some I've never imagined. I know he looks after a dragon. Yong Soo was born a ceramic, he's supplied Yao with every possible jar and tray that he could need. Leon worked with fireworks, so he's used many powders and he knows a little about alchemy from what Yao has trained him in. Mei was dancer, she keeps a regular supply of blood for them. She has a similar ability to Berwald, she can lure pretty much anyone to her."

Emil blinked. "I knew about Yao, and Leon told me about his fireworks, but not everyone else."

"There is an old joke that Yao has a very refined taste, because he's only turned human who had incredible skills or very promising futures ahead of them. We used to run a similar joke about Ivan."

"What do you mean?"

"He only turned warriors. All the people that Ivan turned near died at another time. For example, Natalya killed her husband, was so wounded that no one thought she would live, she did. Hadn't she gotten into that jail she would probably not have been turned. Eduard told me that he was shot once, for pick pocketing, and since no one helped him he spent five weeks at his brothers' care, but he survived. Ravis… Ravis was stillborn, but lived."

Emil shrugged. "Didn't know people had preferences."

"I think it's a personal thing. Berwald didn't turn me from the start when met. It took a few years before he did it, and I was dying. It was either that or me gone. And Mathias turned Lukas from the getgo."

"I knew that." Emil said.

The journey then continued in silence. Emil watched tiredly as they passed trees and lakes. From Norway they travelled through Sweden, into Finland and only when they reached Helsinki did they stop. The sun was very close to rising when Tino parked inside a large garage. Emil was amazed to find the huge building empty.

Tino lead them to a room in the back.

"This is Tino's storage." Berwald explained to the slightly confused Icelander. "He's kept this place for many years. Had it built during World War 1."

"Oh." was all Emil could say,

The backroom was a small dark room with five coffins placed in a row. Emil nodded gratefully at the Finn, who slipped into coffin furthest away from the door (to the east). Emil noted, even if they had been fighting, Berwald stepped into the one beside him. Mathias declared, much to everyone's annoyance, that he, as the oldest, was made for the centre. Lukas laid down in the coffin next to him, and finally Emil in the far west.

The sun had already risen, so they all fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

-000-

The next day seating arrangements were switched. After about an hour on the road Tino picked up Eduard. This had ben pre-arranged between Tino and Eduard when the first rumours about a meeting started. Tino and Eduard were quite close, and had found their friendship through music.

Since it had been 20 years since the Estonian and Finnish vampire last spoke, Emil thought it could be nice for the two to catch up. Neither Tino nor Eduard seemed to mind this arrangement. Emil had ulterior motives for this as well. He wanted to talk with the others, and that was hard when you sat away from everyone else.

In the back of the truck hours dragged on. Tino had made better arrangements for everyone by installing cushions and sofas to everyone. Lukas sat reading a book at on end, with Mathias resting his head on his lap. Berwald was silent in a corner, obviously thinking about Tino. Emil sat down on a pretty large pile of cushions that seemingly shrunk into nothing from his weight.

"Uhm…" Emil started. He wasn't sure how to ask this. After all, love was apparently a sensitive topic for Berwald, just to give the big example.

"Is anything the matter? If you wanna talk about it, then talk." Lukas asked, not averting his gaze from the pages he read.

"Well, what do you think of love?"

Lukas briefly looked up, blinked, and shrugged.

Mathias looked up at his lover in amazement.

"How could you tell he was think about that?"

"I'm his brother." Lukas answered. Mathias sat up and stretched. Emil could hear, even from his end, the familiar sound of someone stretching their joints.

"You want to talk love? Sure." Mathias said, and gave Lukas a warm smile. Lukas simply shook his head. The Danish vampire tried to nudge Lukas into a kiss, but Lukas simply held his hand up to stop him.

"Oi, Lukas, don't be like that." Mathias complained. "I just wanted to demonstrate to Emil what love is."

Lukas puffed as Mathias snatched his hand away, to land a kiss on his cheek. Emil still noted a faint tint of red on his cheeks.

"It's the most amazing thing in the world." Mathias said with a smile. "Although…" he didn't finish this sentence. Instead he went unusually silent. Lukas looked at him quizzically at first, then gave his lover a quick hug.

"Yeah, it's good," Berwald said, but he didn't bother to go further. Instead he looked towards the front, and there was a sad longing in his eyes.

"It is wonderful." Lukas disrupted the moody silence. "But to be fair, I honestly thought I didn't need it once. But, the strangest thing is now I know I will never survive without it. And the best thing is, love exists in so many ways. After all, I've got you…" he looked at Emil with a content smile. "And I've got Mathias."

"And you've got to run far to get rid of me." Mathias said with a smirk. He seemed to have recovered from whatever he had been thinking. Lukas only sighed, but did not complain this time when Mathias leaned in for a kiss.

Briefly Emil wondered what it would be like to be in love. And for a short minute his thoughts drifted to Leon.

He couldn't help but to wonder how he was doing right now?

-000-

**China**

Wang Yao could probably pride himself as the oldest vampire alive. In fact, he was more commonly known for being the sole survivor among those vampires born from the ancient one, and who had memories of those scary dark hours of their history, when you didn't know who'd live and who would not. He had been there when the world was first split into territories, he had been among those to lay out the _rules_. Little Xiao Mei, or Mei as she was more commonly known as, could still not get used to the grandness of her Maker, and it had been a few centuries since he had turned her.

She knew that Yao saw himself as a strong, wise and as the advisor for all these newcomers within the world. And most specifically he saw himself as the sole leader for all of the ones he had turned.

He had gathered all of his _children_ inside his huge palace, within a mountain range of China. His family was growing, and it was getting crowded. How crowded you might ask, well, his palace was still huge.

Even after all these years Mei still found herself lost at times. But not this time. She had to talk to a specific person, and he was most likely the easiest person to find. You just needed to follow the scent of gunpowder. She needed a bit of advice.

Leon had his own private shed for his experiments. There tended to be more than a few accidents when you worked with gunpowder all day.

BANG!

Mei quickened her steps at the sound of the explosion. She hoped this wouldn't' turn out to be yet another bad time when she'd find Leon having destroyed his shed again.

"Blast it!"

Mei saw the smoke first, but it didn't look too bad. It was mainly a large puff of smoke that slowly dissipated in the wind.

"Leon, are you okay?" Mei asked as she reached the door. The first thing she saw was a lot of burnt paper on the floor, and Leon dousing some pyre from his jacket. "What happened?" Mei asked.

"Blast it!" Leon repeated. "I knew I put too much saltpetre in that mix. Oh fuck…"

Leon looked down on the burnt notes.

"Great…" he said simply and bent down to examine the damage.

"Hope I am not disturbing you?" she said. Leon shook his head.

"Not really, this was all my mistake." Leon said and sent he younger member a smile.

The slightly older vampire gathered his burnt notes. Mei bent down to help him.

"What are all of these, anyway?"

"Just some notes." Leon said. Mei picked one less damaged page up and tried to read it.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Icelandic."

"What?"

"I borrowed these from Emil. Oh, they are going to kill me." Mei shook her head at his antics.

"It cannot be that bad." She said.

"Really, he's like a second Yao when it comes to notes. He and the vampires he lives close to."

"Oh…" Mei said understanding. She had once accidentally managed to forget one of Yao's notebooks out in the rain. Hadn't it ben for Kiku she would most likely have been thrown to be torn by lower vampires. Yao had several of those in service, usually to become servants. And they loved every opportunity they could get to get revenge on their oppressors.

"So, why are you here? Did Yao send you?"

"No, but it is because of him that I am here." Mei admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's been acting weird lately." Mei continued, and Leon saw that she was worried. Mei bit on a few strands of loose hair, a habit she only did when she had many things on her mind.

Crash!

Leon and Mei heard it both. There had been something that hit the wall or floor. It sounded like a piece of ceramics, maybe an urn or a vase? In any case, it was quickly followed by an unfamiliar shriek. Mei seemed to recognise it, because her eyes widened and she motioned for him to quickly follow her. Leon did, concerned as well. He felt I might concern them all.

The corridors of the palace were long, it was almost a miracle that they had heard it. Mei stopped outside two large sliding doors. The two vampires on guard quickly slid them open.

The sight that met them was a shock.

"Mai? Amar?" Mei shouted n surprise and shock.

Mai was the Child of Mei and one of the younger members of the clan. As was Amar, who had been turned by Yao. But it wasn't the younger members that surprised Mei. It was the person standing above them.

Yao was dressed in one of his older-styled jackets, which was stained with blood. Both Amar and Mai lay on the ground out cold, stained by their own blood and shards of broken China, Two of the large Ming-vases had been shattered in what must have been a fit of rage. But, what could make Yao this angry?

Yao stared at the two newcomers. Mei had hurried over to examine the younger members wounds, none life-threatening but serious. Yao stared at her, then Leon. There was a hollow emptiness in his eyes, as if he was asking something, but Leon could not tell what this could be. Seconds later Yao turned, and walked towards the other door.

Leon followed.

Yao was troubled, Yao was his Maker. Emi's note could wait. More importantly, what was going on?

_TBC_

-000-

A/N: Anyone notice my coffin arrangements kind of mimic the Nordic map. You've got Finland to the east, Sweden as its neighbour, Denmark got to be in the middle (or h' throw a fit), Norway beside him, and finally Iceland to the far left.


End file.
